Speaking at a School Committee meeting at Cary Hall, Ash proposed a four-phase plan, which includes a call for a special Town Meeting in November to appropriate funds for the full cost of the remediation project. Ash estimated the total cost of the project at $1.5 million.

“We have spent in the vicinity of three-quarters of a million dollars so far,” said Ash. “We can’t avoid doing the kindergarten rooms. I don’t know the upper limit. $1.5 million is the rough estimate for doing the remainder of the work.”

Ash said the majority of the proposed project would be completed in the next three months.

“How quickly can we reasonably remove the major sources of PCB in the school and be in compliance with EPA guidelines and rules?” Ash said.

In recent testing, PCB levels in Estabrook’s ceiling tiles were well above EPA guidelines. Ash proposed removing those ceiling tiles in the kindergarten wing this weekend.

Kindergarten students will be relocated to second-grade classrooms, and second-grade students will move to other available space in the school, such as the gymnasium, for the last week in September. There will be no school for affected students on Monday, Sept. 27. According to Ash, moving the students would allow air samples to be taken to measure the impact of removing the contaminated ceiling tiles.

“There are two major advantages: We attack the problem for students that are most sensitive now [and] we will get back hard data to see if this works,” Ash said.

A second phase of the plan requires asking the Board of Selectmen — or gathering the necessary 200 signatures — to authorize a special Town Meeting in November to request funding for the project.

If Town Meeting approves funding, a third phase would involve replacing the remaining contaminated ceiling tiles in the school. This process would take two weeks, during which time school would be closed.

“[School] days would have to be made up,” Ash said.

Ash proposed completing this work during an extended Christmas break with students returning to school on Jan. 12. As a result, February vacation (Feb. 22-25) would be canceled in order to reach the state mandated 180 school days.

Remaining work to encapsulate exterior caulk on Estabrook’s green transite panels and to remove any contaminated soil would be conducted over April vacation or over the summer.

No sure thing

Ash’s proposal received unanimous support from the Estabrook Advisory Committee, which met for long periods on Monday and Tuesday. The Advisory Committee had expected to have additional air test results available, but lab errors invalidated those tests.

School Committee member Jessie Steigerwald advocated for a formal vote to back Ash’s plan.

“If we are going under a bus, we are going together. Each phase, I feel like we should try to do it collaboratively,” she said.

Ultimately, the School Committee did not formally vote to go forward with the first phase of the plan, but none spoke when asked for objections.

However, not all were convinced by Ash’s presentation. Selectman Peter Kelley raised doubts about the proposal.

“One thing we have learned above anything else is the challenges of renovating and dealing with live buildings is horrendous. The unknowns will get you every time. The costs will grow and the plans will never be what you thought it would be,” Kelley said. “I am not a supporter of renovating the elementary school.”

Kelley said he wouldn’t want to see “the better part of $2 million being spent on nothing.”

“I don’t think we have a problem. I don’t think the Estabrook community should venture on an effort to try and mitigate levels,” he said.

Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Hank Manz said Kelley did not necessarily speak for the rest of the board.

“Through Mr. Kelley’s comments we may individually hold strong opinions. As a board we are pledged to support the town government process,” Manz said. “We may privately express opinions but the final vote is what counts.”

Selectman Deb Mauger said she had some concerns about the proposal.

“As we go forward, I fear some risks,” she said. “You are going to have to get past the Board of Selectmen. You have Town Meeting … there is no sure thing.”

Steigerwald called for further consideration of alternative plans, such as the feasibility of moving Estabrook students to other locations.

Many Estabrook parents in attendance expressed frustration over the situation at the school and how it is being handled.

“I care about what is going on with my kids. It takes a lot to get me angry but I have reached that point,” Estabrook parent Brian Spencer said. “I’m really frustrated because I don’t want my kids to be a part of this experiment. I want my kids to have a safe environment and have an equal education and that means a healthy building.”

Ash acknowledged the concerns of parents who want the problem solved quickly.

“We have heard from parents who are worrying each day that they are hurting their children. We have some parents who have been keeping their children at home. There is a level of anxiety that is very real,” he said. “The message to me has been clear: Get this problem behind us as fast as possible.”